The Facts and Fictions of 18th Century Pirates
by Jedipati
Summary: In a world where the movies had actually happened, how would scholars explain the less-then-normal parts?


Title: The Facts and Fictions of 18th Century Pirates

Author: immortal_jedi aka jedipati

Disclaimer: I don't own POTC, and I don't own the characters mentioned here.

Characters: Ensemble (everyone mentioned only)

Rating: PG (could probably be G even)

Summary: If the POTC movies had actually happened, how would scholars explain the less-then-normal parts?

The Facts and Fictions of 18th Century Pirates

Take Home Midterm

HIST 143: Piracy and the Age of Sail

Peter Gibbs

Historians all agree that the legendary pirates, Jack Sparrow, William Turner and Elizabeth Turner (nee Swann, and referred to as Swann in this paper to avoid confusion with her husband) did exist.

There is enough evidence of Sparrows earlier years, including copies of privateer papers from the East India Trading Company, to show that he was a sea captain during the age of sail. Similarly, Turner and Swann's adolescences in Port Royal are well documented. There are even hints that Turner and Swann were engaged, though such an engagement, crossing class boundaries as it did, would have been unusual in the extreme.

It is well known that at one point, Sparrow captained a pirate ship known as the _Black Pearl_, though there are reports that one Hector Barbossa also captained her. Most of those reports are explained, as Sparrow suffered through more then one mutiny. However, most of the events attributed to the time period he was known to be a pirate are questioned by the majority of scholars, with the exception of the aforementioned mutinies. Turner and Swann's adult life is similarly questioned.

For example, while the three of them did likely team up to kill Barbossa, no reputable scholar believes that they had to defeat cursed pirates and break a curse to do so, and on an island that cannot be found unless you already know where it is.

And while their contemporaries report that Turner and Swann were married at sea, it is highly unlikely that they were married in the middle of a battle against immortal, mutated pirates.

Most historians agree that their adventures have more mundane explanations that have been lost to time. However, some historians suggest that such explanations may not exist, based on contemporary evidence.

Lord Cutler Beckett, a known enemy of the trio, kept an extensive journal. The last few weeks of his journal are lost due to the destruction of the _Endeavour_, his flagship. However, his earlier journals contain many fantastic accounts. He writes of a compass that points, not to north, but to what the holder wants most in the world (a compass that Jack Sparrow was said to possess), an immortal, half sea creature pirate captain that could not step on land, and a still beating heart that had been torn from the owner's chest.

In fact, Beckett wrote that he sent Turner to find the compass.

Most scholars think Beckett was either insane or trying to write a novel, but there are a few that insist he was telling the truth.

19th century scholar Dr. Jonathan Cotton used family stories, contemporary accounts, Beckett's journals, and other documents to show that the various stories are too consistent to be embellished. His research is thorough and compelling.

However, early 20th century history Dr. Edward Norrington ridiculed Dr. Cotton's analysis on the basis that Dr. Cotton's ancestor was his primary source, and he only picked those sources that matched, in an effort to prove the sailor Matthew Cotton correct.

Dr. Norrington (a direct descendent of James Norrington's uncle), however, had his own agenda. He wished to prove that his ancestor- an Admiral in the British Royal Navy, and one of the key figures in the legends- was neither a deserter nor a traitor.

Both of the leading researchers in the lives of Turner, Swann, and Sparrow have proven biases, but that does not mean that we cannot use their work. Dr. Cotton does do a very good job of comparing the primary sources, including Beckett's journal, letters to and from the three pirates, a book written by my own ancestor, Joshamee Gibbs (_The Pirate's Code_, which has recently been discovered again. Before that time, most people thought that Dr. Cotton made up the book), and many other sources.

Dr. Norrington has also taken contemporary sources to build his argument, though he focused on navel documents, most often the Memoirs written by Admiral Ellis Groves- a Lieutenant at the time of the purported events. The Admiral's memoirs contain several mentions of Admiral Norrington, including his resignation from the Royal Navy, his reinstatement, and his death at the hands of privateers.

However, the Admiral's memoirs do contain some curious omissions. He neglects to tell who the aforementioned privateers were, and also neglects to say why Admiral Norrington resigned his commission six months before regaining it. His silence on these matters is perplexing, for beyond that, he was very meticulous in recording details.

Admiral Groves also apparently believed that Turner and Swann were not bad people. He also had some lingering admiration for Sparrow. "I was not upset when I learned that Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann had survived the last battle. I wished them luck in their lives" (Groves, pg 234).

However, the majority of his sympathy is with the Royal Navy, and he relates Turner's first act of piracy- helping Sparrow commandeer the _HMS Interceptor_- with a mixture of extreme annoyance and slight admiration for the tactics involved.

It should be noted that it is this act of piracy is part of the first of the supernatural legends surrounding the trio. Swann was kidnapped by the crew of the _Black Pearl_, who the legends claim were cursed. Turner and Sparrow went after them, eventually supposedly finding them on _Isla de Muerta_- which is said to be impossible to find if you don't know where it is.

Dr. Norrington suggests that the crew of the _Black Pearl_ were merely lucky or skilled, and had a hiding place that was difficult to get to, but not impossible to find. Over time, the legends grew- and perhaps the trio helped them to grow.

Similar claims can be made for the other popular legends involving these pirates. Sparrow may have been injured by a freak accident that likely also damaged the _Black Pearl_, which accounts for the fact that both the ship and her captain were not seen for a year, and one of the superstitious pirates then made the claim that Sparrow was eaten by a kraken, and Turner, Swann, and their compatriots had to rescue him from "Davy Jones' Locker."

The battle between the _Black Pearl_ and the _Flying Dutchman_ is well documented, but it is more likely that the crew of the _Flying Dutchman _was just an extremely brutal pirate crew, and not immortal monsters. Again, their legend grew in the telling.

Additionally, the fact that it is hard to find information on Turner after the events of that battle does not mean that he became the captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, and took over the job of ferryman of the sea's dead. Some say that he died that day, but there is too much evidence against that. It is more likely that he simply helped his wife- who had risen to prominence as "Pirate King"- behind the scenes.

Finally, the rumors that the three of them became immortal through different methods are, quite frankly, absurd. It's more likely that they were killed in battle, or when a ship was destroyed, and because no one witnessed it, the legend that they were immortal began.

One thing that has been suggested is that the trio themselves, and their compatriots, created the stories, and spread the supernatural tales to keep enemies from attacking them. This, however, does not take into account Beckett's journals.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that they were pirates and that too many of the primary sources are filled with the more fantastic parts of the legends, we do not know what actually happened, what events behind the legends were. Unless new documents come to light- perhaps letters or a diary from one of the people involved, one that doesn't tell the supernatural legends, we will never know.

**Bibliography**

Beckett, Lord Cutler. Collected Journals. N.p, n.d.

Cotton, Jonathan. _Pirates in the Caribbean: Natural and Supernatural_. Cambridge UP, 1876

Gibbs, Joshamee. The _Pirate's __Code__ Guidelines: A Booke for Those Who Desire to Keep to the Code and Live a Pirate's Life_. Disney Editions, 2007

Norrington, Edward. _Stories and the Truths Behind Them: Pirates in the 18__th__ Century Caribbean_. Cambridge UP, 1945.

Author's Notes: You know, I'm only six months out of school. I shouldn't be that tired of writing reports. Anyway…

Most of the "resources" I listed in the "bibliography" are made up. However, the Pirate's Code is a real book- sorta. It's put out by Disney, and the official "author" is Gibbs. It's a pretty funny book, if you want to pick it up.


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